12/17/2023 0 Comments James buster douglasTyson was unable to get past Douglas' significantly longer reach, getting tagged again and again by the challenger’s jab. The two men were slated to meet on February 11, 1990, in the Tokyo Dome, but according legend, Tyson and Bobby Brown spent the previous evening getting wrecked with a dozen Japanese women. Nonetheless, Tyson was a 42-to-1 favorite. But he was also in the midst of a mountain of personal turmoil, having recently changed manager and trainer, and his marriage to actress Robin Givens was a disaster. Tyson at the time was 37-0 and one of the most feared men the sport had ever known, an absolute death machine, a short thick slab of controlled violence, as remorseless as he was relentless. He won his next six fights in a row, including unanimous decisions over Trevor Berbick and Oliver McCall (both of whom would at one time hold the heavyweight title), running his record to 29-4-1 and setting himself up with a shot at Mike Tyson and the heavyweight championship. It was the kick in the ass he desperately needed. Unfortunately, Douglas showed up out of shape-a recurring theme throughout his career-and after controlling the action for most of the fight, got KO’d in the 10th by Tony Tucker. He later upset former heavyweight champ Greg Page, and won decisions over David Jaco and Denovrell Collier, earning himself a shot at the IBF title that had been vacated by Michael Spinks. Douglas recovered from the indignity with a 10-round split decision win over former heavyweight contender Randall “Tex” Cobb (better known to film fans as The Lone Rider of the Apocalypse). Both corners swarmed the ring, chaos ensued and the fight was called a no-contest. At the opening bell, Douglas stepped to the center of the ring and landed enough shots that his opponent, Dave Starkey, who responded by picking Douglas up and trying to toss him out of the ring. It was after the loss to White that Douglas turned to former Ohio State football player John Johnson to manage his career. Douglas then beat up on seven more nobodies before getting TKO’ed in the 9th by Mike White, bringing his record to 18-2-1. Douglas won his next seven fights against a string of palookas before fighting Steffen Tangstad to an 8-round draw. Douglas made his pro boxing debuted on May 31, 1981, beating Dan O’Malley in a four-round bout, and would win the next four fights before getting TKO’ed in the second round by David Bey, who was making his debut. But he ultimately headed home to his father’s gym to learn the sweet science. The younger Douglas preferred basketball as a teen, leading his high school to the AAA state championship before playing college ball for a year or two. His father, William “Dynamite” Douglas, had been a middleweight and light-heavyweight boxer who compiled a record of 41-16-1, and who taught his son the fight game well enough that he went on to be the heavyweight champion of the world in one of sports’ most stunning upsets. James “Buster” Douglas was born April 7, 1960, in Columbus, Ohio.
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